Aim: To determine the knowledge of healthcare workers about apitherapy and bee products, and food neophobia.
Method: This study is a descriptive and cross-sectional study. A total of 456 healthcare workers working in different professions participated in the study. The questionnaire contained questions about demographic features, knowledge and use of apitherapy and bee products, and a food neophobia scale. The data obtained were evaluated with the SPSS program.
Findings: Of the healthcare workers, 66.4% were female, 45.6% were physicians and 34.0% were nurses. 54.0% of the healthcare workers were in the 20-29 age group and the difference between the age groups in consumption of bee products was statistically significant (p<0.05). 32.0% of healthcare workers stated that they had heard of apitherapy before, while 71.0% stated that they did not know apitherapy products. Those who have never heard of its effects on health care 59%, while those who think it has a curative effect on diseases are 36.3%. On the other hand, 65.6% of healthcare workers consumed any of the bee products. Honey is the bee product consumed every day (5.1%). When weekly consumption was questioned, the frequency of consumption of honey, propolis and bee pollen 1-2 days a week was 27.1%, 2.2%, and 1.0%, respectively; the frequency of consumption 2-3 days a week was 20.9% for honey and 5.6% for propolis. Apilarnil was consumed once every six months (0.5%), while bee bread was never consumed. Among healthcare workers, 18.6% were neophilic, 63.6% were neutral and 17.8% were neophobic. The difference between the groups according to age, occupation, and use of food supplements was significant (p<0.05).
Conclusion: It was found that most of the healthcare workers had no knowledge about apitherapy and bee products, and age, occupation and using dietary supplements affected the level of food neophobia.
